Former senior civil servant and businessman Pádraig Ó hUiginn has died aged 94. A former secretary-general at the department of the taoiseach during times of significant political turbulence, Mr Ó hUiginn died on Wednesday “joyously, still optimistic and telling stories”, according to his death notice. Mr Ó hUiginn served under three taoisigh – Charles Haughey, who is said to have regarded him as his favourite civil servant, Garret FitzGerald and Albert Reynolds. In early 1994, Mr O’Brien made Mr Ó hUiginn a director Esat Telecom, the company that won the second mobile telephone licence a year later. The esteem in which Mr O’Brien held Mr Ó hUiginn was evident when the telecoms magnate and developer of Canada House, on the corner of St Stephen’s Green and Earlsfort Terrace, erected a plaque on the building in Mr Ó hUiginn’s honour.

Source: The Irish Times April 03, 2019 19:18 UTC